A group of thrift stores have come together to let shoppers know they are more than just spots for second-hand finds — they are also small nonprofits that support community.
A total of eight stores — three in New West, three in Burnaby and one each in Surrey and Coquitlam — are part of the third edition of Share the Love thrift store crawl.
The event invites thrifters to go beyond treasure-hunting at their local thrift stores to learning a little bit more about them, said Isabel Barros, executive director of BASES Family Thrift Store, who has been organizing the crawl since 2019 (with a two-year break in between due to COVID).
As part of the crawl, customers can drop by any of the participating stores to pick up the Share the Love brochure that will include a short snippet about the causes that each store supports. Once the shoppers get the brochure stamped from at least five of the eight listed stores, they'll stand a chance to win $20 gift baskets and a grand prize of $160, made up of $20 gift certificates from each store.
“Many people that come into our store and other stores don't know that we actually are nonprofits. Or that the funds that we raise support community events,” said Barros.
BASES Family Thrift Store, she said, supports after-school and out-of-school programs for low-income families in the local Burnaby and New West schools.
New West's Treasure Chest supports Canadian Mental Health Association; funds from the Royal Columbian Hospital Auxiliary New to You thrift shop go towards the purchase of medical equipment for the Royal Columbian Hospital; and the BC SPCA thrift store helps B.C.'s domestic, farm and wild animals, she said.
Meanwhile, Burnaby-based thrift store Orphan Aid directs its funds to Seeds of Hope Children's Ministry, which operates an orphanage in Africa; and the Burnaby Hospice Society supports individuals and families during their end-of-life journey, said Barros.
This year, the crawl expanded beyond New West and Burnaby to include Coquitlam-based Crossroads Hospice that operates and funds a 10-bed hospice in Port Moody in partnership with Fraser Health, and Surrey-based Seva that supports local charities.
“I would love to continue to grow it (the crawl), make it really big … go into Vancouver, go further out into Langley,” said Barros.
A bigger event would mean more work around planning the logistics, making posters and coming up with a marketing plan, she said. But Barros is ready to slog it out as that would mean supporting organizations that support local community.
“You go into any of these thrift stores, you’ll see that they're run by passionate volunteers. They put their all into the cause that they're trying to support and raise funds for,” she said.
“And that's what I'm trying to let our customers know through the crawl.”
Share the Love Thrift Store Crawl is until Aug. 19. Check out the list of all participating thrift stores on .
